Smartphones

It's the best of times to be a smartphone buyer. The competition is cutthroat, innovation reigns and multiple companies are vying for attention. The smartphone market is developing rapidly and arguably the most interesting tech sector to watch.

This week in the world of Windows Phone saw impressive benchmark results for Edge, news that Windows RT devices will get partially refreshed late year, and confirmation that Windows Phones are not going away.

Huawei Technologies has recently been granted a key approval from the Indian government that paves way for the Chinese telecom giant to make handsets in one of the world's fastest-growing markets for phones.

Rather than pick gifts for you and yours, I'm looking at the best of the best when it comes to tech that I've had the pleasure of using this year, from the big stuff like notebooks, tablets, and smartphones, to smaller stuff like storage devices and smart bulbs.

The wearable market continues to develop with activity trackers and smartwatches available in prices ranging from $50 to $300 or more. Matthew offers up six wearables across the pricing spectrum for you to consider.

At Google's headquarters in Mountain View, Calif., Google VP of Product Management Mario Queiroz and Android Senior Product Manager Erick Tseng demo the new Google Nexus One smartphone, or as he calls it, "superphone." The new phone is made with HTC hardware and runs Google's Android 2.1 OS. Some of the features include GPS with Google Maps and turn-by-turn navigation, an accelerometer, a virtual keyboard, a light sensor for adjusting the display to save battery power, a proximity sensor, a compass, a 5-megapixel camera with an LED flash, Wi-Fi, a new media gallery interface with access to Picasa and YouTube, Facebook access, and stereo Bluetooth.

ZDNet correspondent Sumi Das and senior editor Sam Diaz discuss the new Droid phone set to release in early November. Diaz also previews the upcoming Salesforce.com conference and weighs in on whether consumers will buy Windows 7 during the holiday season.

ZDNet Senior Editor Sam Diaz shares his views on the recent iPhone related controversy--Apple’s rejection of Google Voice. He says, AT&T was not behind the app rejection and that Apple should adopt it because it has already approved other VoIP apps such as Skype.

For start-ups without a lot of time or money, is it smarter to develop for the iPhone first or the Android OS? Panelists at the AlwaysOn Summit at Stanford discuss the pros and cons of each platform. With 65,000 apps available, the iPhone may be the most popular smartphone, but that also means that many more apps can eclipse yours. Panelists include Purnima Kochikar, vice president of the Nokia Community and Developer Forum; Dorrian Porter, CEO of Mozes; Simon Khalaf, CEO of Flurry; and moderator Mark Newhall, co-founder of IdealWave Solutions and INmobile.org.

TechRepublic's Jason Hiner shares his thoughts on the BlackBerry Tour on Verizon Wireless. He discusses the pros and cons of the new device from a business perspective and talks about where it fits in the smartphone market.

ZDNet Senior Editor Sam Diaz talks about Research In Motion's recent praise from UBS analyst Jeffrey Fan and whether his notes are merited. Diaz believes the company's successful first-quarter was due to some special promotions and that the second quarter will be a better gauge of RIM's long-term health as competition in the smartphone market heats up.

At the Web 2.0 Expo in San Francisco, Google VP of Engineering Vic Gundrota showed off the prototype of a new Web-based Gmail app that could one day be used on any smartphone. By using HTML 5 standards, he predicts, developers will no longer have to choose just one platform to write for. When the app is released, users will be able to archive and use their e-mail even when not online. Moderator: Tim O'Reilly, founder and CEO, O'Reilly Media

Ken Silva, CTO of Verisign, says blocking new technologies from coming into your company, isn't a smart strategy. Eventually, he says, someone at the top will want to use their iPhone or other mobile device, so planning to do this securely is more savvy.

Faced with the difficult decision of which smartphone to buy, Senior Editor Sam Diaz explains to ZDNet correspondent Sumi Das what happened when he hopped on the iPhone bandwagon. Diaz reveals which phone he's sporting now (and why), and also shares his cardinal rule for cell phone shopping.

HTC has pulled out all the stops with the One, which looks great, performs well and includes some clever features. The lack of storage expansion and the persistence of BlinkFeed are irritations, but overall the HTC One stands up well against rival flagship handsets.

The second generation of this dockable smartphone/tablet combo has a lot to recommend it, although we'd prefer a better tablet screen, a storage expansion slot (or two) and a standard Micro-USB connector.

The Z10 is a nicely designed handset with a superb touchscreen and good specifications that include LTE and NFC support. The new BlackBerry 10 OS offers a decent user experience once you get used to it, although we'd like to see a physical home button.

The first Intel-powered smartphone offers excellent value for money, with its large screen, good battery life and NFC support. On the downside, it lacks storage expansion, runs Android 2.3 and some apps may not run on the Atom processor.

The 4.3in. Lumia 900 is not especially pocket-friendly, and not everyone will need such a large screen. If you want a Windows Phone and find the Lumia 900 too bulky and pricey, take a look at the more affordable 3.7in. Lumia 800.

HTC's flagship One X is a large yet stylish Android 4.0 handset with a stunning 4.7in. screen. Its cutting-edge specification, headed by a quad-core CPU, will appeal to power users, but the lack of storage expansion and poor battery life are disappointing.

The Bold 9790 has a small screen and a somewhat cramped keyboard, but it runs BlackBerry 7 OS and there's a full 8GB of internal storage. If you're on a restricted budget and can cope with a compact handset, the Bold 9790 could be a good buy.

The Galaxy Extreme is an affordable rugged handset, although it's short on internal storage and the screen and camera are both disappointingly low-resolution. If you want a tough Android smartphone, you should also consider the similarly priced Motorola Defy+.

The Omnia W is attractively priced, and the screen is large enough to deliver a reasonable web browsing (if you can live without Flash) and mobile email experience. Build quality is solid, but the design is unremarkable.

If you're a Windows Phone fan seeking a relatively compact and solidly built handset, the HTC Radar could fit the bill. The optional dock may prove attractive, although that must be balanced by the inaccessible battery.

The Galaxy Note has a large, vibrant and responsive screen, and is a good size for using 'notepad style' with the S Pen. However, it's too large to carry around as an everyday smartphone, and isn't as useful at home or in the office as a full-sized tablet.

HTC's Windows Phone 7.5-based Titan has a fast 1.5GHz processor and an 8-megapixel camera, but its standout feature is a huge 4.7in. screen. We'd like the display better if it had more than 480 by 800 pixels, and people with small hands will find the device unwieldy.